Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Obviously there could be no bigger news around the Minnesota Twins this past week than the trade of franchise favorite Justin Morneau. Opinions are all over the place on this but I think the Twins came out okay on their end of the deal when you consider the facts of the situation. The Pittsburgh Pirates have an organization rich in young talent just like the Twins do so almost anyone they get back in a trade from the Pirates is a good prospect. But in Alex Presley they got more than just a good prospect.
Just focusing on his part of the deal, Presley isn’t someone making his MLB debut this week. He is a guy that has been up and down for the Pirates for a while because Andrew McCutchen blocks him from coming up and playing center field. I should say blocked because now Presley can take part in the Twins outfield and really have a chance to show what he can do.
Do I think that Presley is an equal to all that Morneau can do? Of course he isn’t; not yet anyway. He may never be but that still doesn’t mean he wasn’t a good return for the Morneau trade. You have to understand that while Morneau wanted to stay in Minnesota, he and the team were not going to be able to come to terms they could agree on after Morneau’s resurgence of late.
Considering that, the Twins were going to lose Morneau in the off-season anyway. Trading him when they did allowed them to get as much from him as they could while playing for their team while also getting something back for him in the form of a young player. Presley had a great Twins debut and likely will show a lot of potential coming to the surface as he finally gets a consistent chance to prove his ability.
Is he as good as Morneau? I seriously doubt it. That doesn’t mean he isn’t good though. Give him a chance and you might find out that Presley is a very good player in his own right that the Twins would have never been able to gain if not for the trade of someone they were going to lose for nothing at all in the off-season. It is a good move considering the circumstances both sides were in and Presley looks to be proving it already.
David Miller is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @davidmillerrant, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
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